By Cat Swift. Last Updated 5th November 2024. In this guide, we’ll be exploring the process of making a personal injury claim after being injured in a crane accident. We will discuss the criteria you need to meet in order to seek compensation and the evidence you can gather to support your claim.
Employers have a duty of care to prevent their employees from suffering an injury in the workplace. In instances where an employer breaches their duty of care, an employee could sustain either physical or psychological harm as a result. In this guide, we will discuss how this could occur and the injuries that could be sustained as a result.
We will also discuss the compensation you could be awarded for injuries sustained and how the settlement you receive should address your pain and suffering.
Lastly, we will explore the benefits of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor. In doing so, you could access their services without paying upfront or during the course of your claim.
If you’d like to learn more, then you can contact our team of advisors by using the details provided below.
- Call us on 0800 073 8801
- Contact us online
- Use the live chat box on this page
Browse Our Guide
- Eligibility When Claiming For A Crane Accident At Work
- What Could Cause A Crane Accident At Work?
- What Evidence Could Be Used In Your Workplace Injury Claim?
- Examples Of Payouts For A Crane Accident At Work
- Claiming For Injuries At Work With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Learn More About Workplace Accident Claims
Eligibility When Claiming For A Crane Accident At Work
After being injured at work by a crane accident, you may be able to make an accident at work compensation claim. To do so, you must prove:
- Your employer owed a duty of care to you at the time and place of the accident
- This duty of care was breached
- You experienced harm as a result of the breach. This is known as negligence.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states that an employer has a duty of care they must uphold. This means that they must take reasonably practicable steps to prevent employees from suffering harm at work. This can include carrying out risk assessments and addressing any hazards with the equipment, facilities, and environment.
There are certain risks involved with working with cranes, including working from a height and working with specialist equipment. If an employer fails to address these, it could lead to an employee sustaining harm in a crane accident.
For more information on when you could be eligible to seek compensation for your injuries, please get in touch on the number above.
Limitation Periods For Crane Accident At Work Claims
In addition to ensuring you demonstrate negligence has occurred, you must also start your claim within the time limitation period set out in the Limitation Act 1980.
This states that you generally have three years from the date of the accident. There are exceptions to this rule.
Please get in touch with our team to find out more about the exceptions and whether they could apply to you.
What Could Cause A Crane Accident At Work?
There are several ways a crane accident could occur, such as:
- Faulty equipment: An employer may have failed to ensure the machinery was safe to use. As a result, an employee may have sustained injuries such as broken and fractured bones, loss of a limb, and a head injury due to faulty equipment.
- Fall from height: An employer may have failed to assess the risks involved with working from a height. As a result, an employee may have fallen from the machinery and sustained a fatal brain injury.
- Inadequate training: An employer may have failed to ensure employees operating the machinery had adequate training to carry out their work-related duties safely. As a result, several employees may have been injured.
Please keep in mind that not all accidents at work involving a crane will form the basis of a valid claim. If you are unsure whether you’re eligible to seek personal injury compensation for your injuries, get in touch using the number above.
What Evidence Could Be Used In Your Workplace Injury Claim?
You may be wondering ‘what should I do if I’ve had an accident at work?‘. There are several steps you could take, including gathering sufficient evidence to prove that the injuries you sustained were the result of your employer not upholding the duty of care they owed to you.
Examples of the evidence you could gather to support your claim include:
- CCTV footage or pictures of the accident
- Pictures of your injuries
- Copies of your medical records, including X-ray scans and prescriptions
- The contact details of any witnesses
If you’re struggling to collect evidence to support your crane accident claim, a solicitor from our panel could help. They could represent your claim provided it’s valid and has a chance of success. Use the contact information above to discuss this further with our advisors.
Examples Of Payouts For A Crane Accident At Work
After making a successful personal injury claim following a crane accident at work, you could receive a settlement consisting of general damages and special damages.
General damages compensate for the pain and suffering you have experienced due to your injuries.
The Judicial College Guidelines are used by solicitors to help them assign a value to this head of claim. The document comprises a list of bracketed compensation amounts. We have included figures from the document in the following table.
Compensation Table
Be advised that this table has been included to act as guidance only.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple severe injuries and financial losses | Serious | Up to £1,000,000 + | Multiple serious injuries with significant financial losses such as loss of earnings and care needs. |
| Injury Resulting From Brain Damage | Very Severe (a) | £344,150 to £493,000 | Cases at the top of this bracket include the ability to follow very basic commands, but very little evidence of any meaningful response. The person needs full time care. |
| Injury Resulting From Brain Damage | Moderately Severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 | Injured person is severely disabled, requiring a substantial dependence on others, and constant care. |
| Injuries Resulting In Paralysis | Paraplegia (b) | £267,340 to £346,890 | Level of award will depend on several factors included extent of pain, age and life expectancy. |
| Back Injuries | Severe (a) (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 | Cases of damage to the nerve roots and spinal cord where there are serious consequences. |
| Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips | Severe (a) (i) | £95,680 to £159,770 | Extensive fractures of the pelvis causing disabilities of a substantial nature. |
| Other Arm Injuries | Less Severe (c) | £23,430 to £47,810 | A substantial recovery has happened or will be expected to happen after a significant disability. |
| Leg Injuries | Less Serious (c) (i) | £21,920 to £33,880 | An incomplete recovery from fractures. |
| Ankle Injuries | Moderate (c) | £16,770 to £32,450 | Less serious disabilities from fractures and tears to the ligaments. |
| Knee Injuries | Moderate (b) (i) | £18,110 to £31,960 | Cases of a dislocation and torn cartilage are covered in this bracket. |
How Special Damages Could Also Compensate You
Your settlement could also consist of special damages. This head of claim aims to reimburse a claimant for any financial losses they may have experienced due to their injuries. This can include:
- Loss of earnings
- Cost of care
- Cost of medication
- Cost of renovations to a home in aid of recovery
It’s important that a claimant provides the necessary evidence to prove these losses. This can come in the form of bank statements, invoices, payslips, or receipts.
Claiming For Injuries At Work With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
While you don’t have to instruct a solicitor in order to make a crane accident claim, having the support of a trained and experienced legal professional will surely be of benefit. A solicitor will ensure any court instructions and deadlines are complied with, calculate a possible compensation figure and communicate with you throughout the claims process.
Our solicitors can offer their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This No Win No Fee contract gives claimants some key advantages, including:
- Not having to pay anything at the start of the claim.
- You will also not incur fees during the claims process itself.
- Finally, if the claim does not succeed, you will not pay any fee.
A successful claim will see you awarded crane accident compensation. The solicitor will take some of this compensation as their success fee. However, as The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 caps these fees, you’ll keep most of any award that is paid out.
To learn more about claiming for an injury caused by a crane at work, contact our team of advisors today. They can offer a free consultation, through which your claim can be evaluated. If they find that you could have a basis for compensation, you may be passed on to one of our solicitors. To get started:
- Call us on 0800 073 8801
- Contact us online.
- Use the live chat box.
Learn More About Workplace Accident Claims
For more of our guides:
- Assault at work compensation claims
- Back injury at work compensation claims
- Stress at work compensation claims
Alternatively, you can learn more by using the below external links
We hope that this guide to making a crane accident claim has helped. If you have any other questions, please get in touch using the details provided above.
